Your Eyes
by sandersonsister
Summary: Soulmates are able to see through each others eyes each year on their birthday starting at the age of sixteen. Tsukishima didn't expect to see through three people's eyes.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Hiakyuu! or the characters.

Tsukishima left school early the day of his sixteenth birthday. Yamaguchi had been flittering around him all day and had made him promise to call as soon as he woke up that afternoon. Tsukishima had done so but only to keep his best friend from following him home to 'celebrate'. Not that he would have been out of place. Tsukishima should have known that his family would make a big deal out of it.

He really shouldn't have been surprised to walk into the house and see his mother, father, and older brother standing there waiting for him. His father had taken off of work early and his brother had taken the train home, missing an entire day of classes, just to be at the house for Tsukishima's Moment.

Tsukishima wished they had just ignored it.

Everyone experienced their first Moment the minute they turned sixteen. Tsukishima was born at exactly 13:42 and as soon as the clock hit that minute he would pass out for exactly ten minutes. During those ten minutes he would be able to see through the eyes of his soulmate. Those that were really lucky might see a name or an address that tells them how to find their soulmate. Those that were really unlucky, like his brother, would be transported to an empty space that indicated their soulmate was sleeping.

His brother was born at 2:21. He had never seen a thing from his soulmate.

The first Moment was usually celebrated greatly. Students took the time off of school and spent that time at home. Tsukishima had actually heard of people having parties and making a big production out of their Moment. As far as he was concerned, those people were completely insane. How would you even guarantee you would see something? What if something went wrong? It was just begging for disaster. Anyway, every year after the first most students would go to the nurse and spend twenty minutes asleep in the infirmary before heading back to class. Tsukishima had wanted to stay in school for his first Moment but his mother had given him that…look and he found himself agreeing to head home at lunch.

"Kei! Come sit! It's almost time!" His mother gushed, moving forward to grab his arm and pull him toward the sofa as soon as he walked in the door.

"Shouldn't I stay in my room?" He asked in irritation as he kicked off his shoes. He really didn't want to pass out on the sofa and have his family sitting around, staring at him when he woke up. Creepy.

"This is a celebration moment! You can't be by yourself!"

Sighing in irritation, Tsukishima found himself sinking onto the sofa. His mother had placed a pillow to one side and he moved into a lying position as his brother began to nudge his shoulder. "Only a couple more minutes!" His mother said brightly as she knelt beside the couch and stared at him intently, "I don't know why you waited so long to get home."

Tsukishima ignored her and stared up at the ceiling. His mother continued to talk loudly with his father answering her occasionally and his brother laughing and joking in the background. He really should have just stayed in school. He was sure the nurse would have –

And then the ceiling was gone. Instead he was…in a classroom. Well, at least he knew his soulmate wasn't much older than him. There had been plenty of cases where a person's soulmate was old enough to be their parent. He couldn't say he wasn't relieved. The person was glancing up at the board occasionally to verify the math problem they were copying down. The person was either older than him or very advanced for their age, though Tsukishima didn't think he was much younger than him, if he was at all. That was another moment of relief. Not a seriously younger soulmate. Tsukishima was good at math but he had no idea how to even start on that problem.

He found himself focusing on the hand that was scribbling answers on the paper. The hand was large. Large and pale with somewhat broken nails, like the person chewed them regularly. A male's hand. Well, that wasn't surprising but it was nice to have the verification.

Attached to the hand was a strong forearm. The man had pushed up the sleeve of his uniform and Tsukishima was just barely able to catch a glimpse of gray before the eyes once again flickered up to the teacher. The woman had started lecturing about the problem and called one of the students up to solve it. The person turned their attention away and looked out the window, staring out at what seemed to be the entrance of the school gym. The eyes stayed there for the next few minutes, never wavering as if the person was just longing to go outside and get away from the class atmosphere. Then a loud slam made the boy jump and turn his eyes toward the front of the classroom where…

Well, Tsukishima didn't know what had made that noise. Because he was suddenly looking at something completely different. He appeared to be outside, sitting with a group of boys about his age that were clad in uniforms consisting of a white shirt, red tie, a black sweater vest, and a blue blazer. Tsukishima had never seen uniforms like that and he swore he wouldn't be wearing one anytime soon. The group seemed to be in the middle of lunch, all of them laughing loudly. Long legs stretched out in front of him, the dark grey slacks matching those that were around the body he was in. Another boy. The eyes snapped to the side quickly and Tsukishima saw a small, pale hand pinching the fabric of the man's blazer. The eyes moved up the arm and came to rest on a teenager with bright blond hair. "What is it?" The person asked. If he could, Tsukishima would have shivered at the deep voice.

"Loud," the boy said in return. He let go of the blazer slowly and began to climb to his feet.

"Are you going to the classroom?"

The blonde nodded and the man turned his eyes back toward the group as he grabbed his food. "Hey guys, we're going to head to class. See you at practice."

Practice? What type of practice?

The group yelled their goodbyes and Tsukishima drank in every bit of information he could get from the walk to the classroom. Whatever school it was, it definitely wasn't anywhere around Tsukishima. It was much bigger than any of the schools in his area. "You could have stayed," a soft voice said, making the eyes flicker toward the small blond that was burying his head forward in an attempt to not be noticed.

"Nah, I wouldn't want to cut into the best friend time!" The man exclaimed, throwing his arm around the blonde's shoulder. Tsukishima found himself once again focusing on the forearm. Damn.

At least this one didn't bite his nails.

A loud laugh broke Tsukishima from his thoughts and his vision suddenly went black. The man was laughing, his eyes closed and his arms wrapped around his stomach. He laughs like a donkey…

Then he could see again but he was no longer standing in the middle of a hallway.

What the hell…

He was once again in a classroom, this time it appeared to be English. This person was staring straight ahead, the eyes not even slightly wandering away from the teacher. Tsukishima wondered if the person was even listening or if they had completely zoned out. If they kept this up the only information Tsukishima was going to get was that they took English. Not really a lot to go on – though at least he knew that he was still in school and somewhat around his age. From the corner of the persons eye he could see a girl glancing over every so often and Tsukishima would have snarled if he could. So this one had an admirer. A pretty one.

It was after the fourth not so subtle glance that the eyes slowly slid over to rest fully on the girl. "Did you need something, Asumi-san?"

Tsukishima wondered if it was possible to have a stroke when you had your Moment. The voice was smooth and deep. Musical. Completely polite but Tsukishima could detect just the slightest bit of annoyance hidden beneath the surface.

The girl turned bright red and snapped her eyes back toward the front of the room. "No-no. Sorry, Akaashi-san."

Akaashi-san.

He had a name.


	2. Chapter 2

Tsukishima woke to chaos. His father was rapidly talking into a phone, his mother was sobbing, and his brother was kneeling beside the couch, his face pale as he shouted at him. "Kei!"

His father froze the moment his name was spoken and his mother looked up through her tears long enough to see Tsukishima's eyes open. She threw herself at her son, making Tsukishima groan as she slammed into him. "Kei! Oh, I thought something had happened to you!"

Tsukishima looked up at his father hopelessly as his mother and brother continued to panic. "What the-"

"You were out for thirty minutes," his father informed him, his usually stoic voice shaking slightly as he came to stand beside the couch. He still had the phone clenched in his hand and Tsukishima briefly wondered if his father had actually hung up or if someone was still on the other side. "We thought that something went wrong…there have been cases of people getting stuck…"

Tsukishima winced. Those cases were few and far between but it had been known to happen. People who spent years stuck seeing through their soulmates eyes, their bodies practically wasting away. He always wondered about that. What did the soulmate see during their Moments? Did they just think the person was asleep? Shaking the thoughts from his mind, Tsukishmia slowly wrapped his arms around his still weeping mother and glanced up to meet Akiteru's eyes. His brother was extremely pale and had his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "Alright, it's alright. Nothing's wrong. Come on, let me up." He slowly moved into a sitting position, his mother now moving up beside him and wrapping her arms around him tightly. He grimaced but didn't try to pull away. She would just follow him anyway. There was no escaping her when she was like this.

"Kei, what happened?" Akiteru asked hoarsely as he leaned forward and grasped Tsukishima's arm. Tsukishima scowled and tried to shake his brother off. It didn't work. He was too much like their mother. "After ten minutes you just…didn't wake up. Didn't show any signs of waking up. We didn't know…"

Tsukishima didn't look at his brother instead choosing to focus on a small stain on the floor. "I have more than one soulmate. Three, actually."

There was an eerie silence. Even his mother stopped crying long enough to look up at him with her mouth hanging open. "W-what?" Akiteru finally asked, his hands dropping in shock, just when the silence was beginning to grow unbearable.

"I had a Moment with three separate people," Tsukishima answered, making sure to keep his voice even. "One was in a math class. Another at lunch with a group of students. The third was studying English."

"Oh," Akiteru stuttered. Tsukishima glanced up at his older brother curiously. But Akiteru wasn't looking at him. No, he was staring at their father. "That's…great Kei! Did you hear anything? See anything?"

"Yes," Tsukishima's mother asked, finally sitting up fully and letting her arms fall. She blinked frantically as she tried to clear the tears from her eyes as she beamed at her son. "Did you? Oh, Kei, I'm so happy for you!"

"Happy?" And there it was. Tsukishima looked up at his father, his mask firmly in place. "Three soulmates? Poly bonds are unstable! Kei should just choose one and the other two can be together," his father grumbled, throwing the phone onto the couch in disgust. Tsukishima couldn't help but flinch as the phone barely managed to miss him.

"Don't say that!" His mother snapped, standing from the couch and placing her hands on her hips. "There are plenty of poly bonds that work out!"

"Do you really think Kei could manage to be in a relationship like that?" His father demanded.

Akiteru grabbed Tsukishima's arm and quickly pulled him to his feet, "I think you should go to your room," he said quietly. "I'll take care of it."

Tsukishima didn't bother to answer though he did take the advice. Within seconds he found himself inside his room, the door closed firmly behind him. It was then that he allowed himself to let out a deep sigh and sink down onto the floor. He pressed his back against the wall and pulled his long legs up to his chest, resting his head against his knees. Three soulmates. Three. At least one of them were older than him, though he was pretty sure the second man was as well. The students seemed to be in high school and Tsukishima wouldn't be starting Karasuno until the new year. Who knows how many years – how many Moments – it would take for him to find out who his mates were. Of course, they might have more information on him. Depending on how old they were, they might have already had more than one Moment.

His mind drifted toward his family's reaction. He wasn't surprised. His father had always been conservative and it was only recently that poly bonds were accepted in Japanese society. In previous years, those with poly bonds had done exactly as his father suggested. Some still chose to do so. At least his mother…and brother…seemed to accept the situation.

He wondered how his soulmates families felt about it.

Or their friends.

Or how his soulmates felt about it themselves. Would they want to split the bond up? What did Tsukishima want to do? He had never really cared much until now.

He wondered how Yamaguchi would take it.

With Yamaguchi in mind, Tsukishima glanced up at the clock. He had about an hour before his best friend would be expecting his call. He slowly pulled himself to his feet and moved toward the computer on his desk. He had never thought he would be part of a poly bond and he had never looked deeply into it. He might as well start now.

His father wasn't exactly wrong. There were many cases of poly bonds being unstable. However, most of those seemed to focus on a group of three. It happened often when two of the soulmates met before meeting the third person and bond without them. When the third person enters the bond it seems that there are usually some jealousy issues which leave the bond being unbalanced. But that wasn't always the case. And there was actually a less chance of instability with a bond of four. Most think it is because it is more well rounded. Tsukishima figured it was just because it was an even number and there would always be someone there. No one would be alone. Of course, that wasn't always true either.

By the end of that hour, Tsukishima felt like his head was going to explode. On the surface, poly bonds weren't that different than other bonds. However, there were issues with jealousy and trust that led to many of the groups to separate. There were even some that chose completely different partners all together. Apparently, trust was extremely important. That and honesty.

Why the hell did the universe decide to put him in a poly bond?

A loud ringing made Tsukishima tear his eyes away from the computer. He barely glanced at his phone before placing it up to his ear.

"Tsukki! What happened? Tell me all about it!"

Letting out a loud groan, Tsukishima stood and stretched. That computer chair was not made for his height. "Well, I passed out,"

"Tsukki! Come on!"

"-and didn't wake up for thirty minutes because the universe likes to screw with me and decided to give me three soulmates instead of one. And I'm pretty sure my family is still arguing about that fact two hours later."

The silence stretched on so long that Tsukishima actually pulled the phone away from his ear briefly to make sure the call was still connected. It was. "Hello? Are you broken?"

It was another twenty seconds before Tsukishima heard a sharp intake of breath. "Did you just remember to breathe?"

"TSUKKI! That's amazing! Who are they? Did you see anything good? You're so lucky you were born during the day! So? What happened?!"

"Remember that breathing thing? You might want to do that."

"Tsukki! You have to tell me what happened! I know you like to keep things to yourself but this is really big and I think you should-"

"Shut up, Yamaguchi."

"Sorry Tsukki."

Tsukishima paused just for a moment to see if his best friend would start up again but when Yamaguchi stayed silent he decided to answer. "I didn't see much," he admitted. "The first one was in math – more difficult than anything I've seen yet. The second was at lunch with a group of people. There was one in particular that he seemed close to. The last one was in class. English. I heard his name."

He purposely stayed silent, wondering how long it would take until-

"Tell meeee!"

There it is. "Akaashi. I didn't see much more than that."

"Did you try to look them up?"

"No."

"I'll do it when I get home!"

"Don't."

"Whatever you say, Tsukki."


	3. Chapter 3

Things went back to normal easily enough. Tsukishima's parents had basically decided that they were just going to agree to disagree and neither of them mentioned Tsukishima's soulmates again. His father was a little awkward around him for a couple of days but he seemed to relax when Tsukishima didn't mention their previous conversation. Soon enough, the subject of his soulmates was taboo in the Tsukishima household.

Tsukishima tried to put the Moment out of his mind and focused on school. He soon graduated junior high and moved to Karasuno. Much to his displeasure, he found his life quickly focusing on the one thing he always said that it wouldn't – volleyball. Not only was he stuck with the King but the small kid drove him absolutely crazy. He was surprised the two of them were able to function on a daily basis.

Things didn't get better as time went on. First there was the practice match against Aobajōsai where he was targeted by the third year Hinata referred to as the 'Great King'. Then they got a coach who brought a bunch of old guys to play against them – and they lost. After that they played countless games against Nekoma. And the lost. Every. Single. One. Nekoma had this extremely irritating middle blocker that seemed to taunt the opposing team just as well as Tsukishima. And their setter – well, Tsukishima had to admit that the guy was intelligent. Much different than Karasuno's idiot setter. To make things even more annoying, the setter was extremely familiar but no matter how hard he tried, Tsukishima couldn't figure out why. To make things even worse, no matter how much he tried to hide it, Tsukishima knew that Yamaguchi was practicing with one of the old guys every night. He had no idea what his friend was doing but he wasn't going to bother trying to find out if Yamaguchi didn't want him to know.

Even after all of that, they still lost to Aobajosai during Inter-High. Oh, his team was sure they would do better during the Spring High but Tsukishima wasn't so sure. It wasn't like anything was really going to change with the team. They would be practicing the same way they did before, the third years were staying on the team, and they would most likely have to face Aobajosai once again. And they would probably lose. He didn't know why the rest of the team was working so hard.

And then it was announced that they would be going to Tokyo to join Nekoma and some of the schools in the area in a training camp.

Unsurprisingly, they were the worst ones there.

It was when they were playing Fukurodani when Tsukishima first heard it. "AKAAASHI!" Tsukishima froze as the owl like Ace screamed the name. Akaashi? He turned his focus toward the pretty setter on the other team and barely noticed when the ball slammed onto the court beside him. He hadn't even tried to block it. The dark haired setter was now staring back with his eyebrow quirked up questioningly. Tsukishima tore his gaze away from the young man and tuned back in just in time to hear the King start his newest tirade.

Not in the mood to deal with him, Tsukishima moved off the court with the rest of his team and lined up for their latest sprint uphill. "Did I just hear…?" Yamaguchi questioned softly as their teammates began to run.

"Yeah."

"Is it the same-"

"I don't know."

"Well shouldn't you-"

"Shut up Yamaguchi."

"Sorry, Tsukki," there was silence for just a moment as the two boys began their decent downhill but Tsukishima knew it wasn't going to last long.

He was right.

"Should you talk to him?"

"I'd rather not."

"Tsukki-"

"We have another game coming up."

He managed to not only avoid the Fukurodani setter but he was able to keep Yamaguchi quiet for the rest of the weekend. As soon as he got back home, he threw himself onto his bed and let out a low groan. Of course there was an Akaashi on an opposing team. He should have known something like this was going to happen. It was just his luck. He didn't even know if this Akaashi was the same Akaashi that he saw in his Moment. Hell, that Fukurodani ace could have been saying a completely different name. Maybe Tsukishima was just hearing things. Hearing what he wanted to hear. Not that he wanted to hear that one of his soulmates was so close…

Now he was just thinking in circles.

He let out yet another sigh. Why was he even worrying? All he had to do was keep away from the setter. He had one more training camp and, if things worked out the same way they had this past weekend, he would easily be able to avoid the older boy. It would be fine.

It wasn't fine.

¬¬¬¬¬How had it come to this? Somehow, he had allowed himself to be tricked into doing extra practice with the captains of both Nekoma and Fukurodani. If he had known that the Fukurodani setter had been inside the gym, he would have ignored the provocation, no matter what the bed head had said. Yet, here he was.

Akaashi (that was his name, by the way) was solemn with intelligent eyes. He was also increadibly attractive. Even more attractive than Oikawa from Aobajōsai. He wondered how annoyed Oikawa would be to know there was a setter more physically appealing. He should have the King tell him. It would be amusing.

Tsukishima could see instantly how Akaashi was able to calm down the loud and brash Fukurodani captain, even if he was urged on by the scheming Nekoma captain.

Tsukishima jumped over and over, failing to stop the spike from the Fukurodani captain and ace every single time. He was getting annoyed and he could practically feel Nakoma's captain, Kuroo's, gaze drilling into his back as he failed to block over and over again. He fell forward, resting his hands on his knees as the ball once again slammed down beside him.

"Yes!" the spiker yelled once again.

"You beat all of one blocker," Akaashi told him, his voice completely monotone. If he wasn't so irritated, Tsukishima would have smirked.

"Well, how about two then?" an amused voice cut in, causing to Tsukishima to look from the floor he had been staring at. Kuroo stood there, hands on his hips and a smirk on his face as he challengingly smirked at the other captain. Tsukishima glanced back at the Nakoma first year the captain had been training. The boy was sprawled out on the floor.

Is he alive? Tsukishima thought to himself, amazed that the boy had held out as long as he had. He had heard the two training.

He would admit that he never wanted to go through that.

"Let's go!" the multi-haired captain yelled, throwing the ball into the air.

Tsukishima could feel the heat radiating off of the boy beside him but he forced himself to concentrate on the toss in front of him. But not on Akaashi. On the ball. "Four eyes, make sure you keep that straight in check," Kuroo stated as the spiker jumped.

Tsukishima scowled at the words – and the nickname - but jumped at the same time as the older boy. He saw Kuroo's left hand shoot out instead of up and it met the ball that fell down to the floor. "Yeah!" He yelled, fists pumped into the air.

"Damn it!"

Tsukishima stared at the ball in amazement. How had he been able to stop that? How had he known where the other boy was going to hit?

Bokuto stood in front of him, arms crossed over his chest. "You know, four eyes, you're great at reading attacks, but your blocks are pretty weak." Tsukishima scowled instantly, feeling utterly irritated at the remark. And then he got irritated that he was irritated. It was just a game. Nothing to be upset over. "Your arms are so frail I'm scared I'm going to break them."

Tsukishima clenched his jaw at the words. He was not frail. "I'm still a growing boy," he said, standing up to his full height and towering over the captain, knowing just how annoyed the boy would be at the comment. "I've just started gaining muscle and getting taller."

Bokuto's face morphed into a scowl instantly and Tsukishima almost laughed when he heard Akaashi let out a sigh as he looked at his captain. He then glanced at Tsukishima with narrowed eyes and Tsukishima glanced back down at the Fukurodani captain. For some reason his eyes trailed over the strong forearms crossed over the strong chest and the large hands…

Hand with bitten and broken nails.

No.

"Talk like that and the little shrimp is going to hog all the glory," Kuroo said with a sly look. Tsukishima looked toward him forcing himself to put the horrifying thought he just had out of his mind. A lot of people chewed their nails. A lot of people had arms that look like…that. "You play the same position, right?"

There was complete silence as Tsukishima played the words over in his head, trying to catch up to what the Nekoma captain was talking about. Oh. Hinata. Then he got even more irritated. The words weren't anything new. Nothing he hadn't told himself over and over. He knew Hinata was considered to be special. That he was going to be pushed to the background. Yet, for some reason, the words from Kuroo's mouth stung.

"I don't think that can be helped," Tsukishima muttered, rubbing the back of his neck and smiling a fake smile. Don't think about it. Don't look at Akaashi. Don't look at Bokuto's hands. Or his arms. Hell, don't look at Bokuto. "The difference in natural talent between me and Hinata is too great."

Kuroo's mouth opened in response but Tsukishima didn't have a chance to hear his response. A group of boys walked in, talking loudly and obviously wanting to join their captain for practice. Tsukishima smiled once again, knowing none of them would see just how fake it was, "Well, looks like I'll be in the way," he said, turning away toward the door quickly. He had a chance to escape and he was going to take it. "If you'll excuse me."

"Hey!" Kuroo yelled out as Tsukishima slipped out the door.

"Looks like you stepped on a mine, Kuroo-san," Tsukishima heard Akaashi state. Tsukishima paused for a moment at the sound of the voice. Now that he couldn't see the boy, now that he wasn't watching him as he spoke…he did sound like…

"You pissed him off," Bokuto cut in, making Tsukishima shake his head of the thought. No. This was not happening. He moved away before he could hear any more. He didn't need to hear anyone analyzing what he did or said. Especially not Nakoma's captain.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry for the long wait everyone! If you haven't read through the first three chapters to refresh yourself, please do so. I went through and changed some things. Let me know what you think!

He wasn't planning on going back. Really, he wasn't. But then something unexpected happened.

Yamaguchi yelled at him.

 _Yamaguchi_. Yelled. At. _Him_.

Not only had he yelled at him, he had actually called him pathetic. He couldn't understand it. He had never been as…obsessed as those idiots when it came to volleyball. And Yamaguchi had always been right there beside him. But now, now even Yamaguchi had become sucked in. He didn't _understand_.

It was Akaashi that saw him first. He looked surprised for a moment, his eyebrows even quirking up as he let out a faint, "oh."

"Oh, what's this?" Bokuto questioned with a smirk when he stopped doing…whatever it was he had been doing and followed the setters gaze.

"What's this, what's this?" Kuroo cut in with a crazed look on his face.

Tsukishima took a deep breath and moved forward. He had actually been wanting to step back but something was pushing him forward. Since he was here, he might as well ask. "There is something I want to ask you. May I?"

"Sure!" Bokuto and Kuroo chorused in excitement.

Tsukishima blinked in surprise at the enthusiasm. Well, that was certainly different than how people usually talked to him. Most of them would probably be frightened if he wanted to ask them something, not excited. "Thank you very much," he said, bowing slightly. "Both of your schools are sometimes considered powerhouse schools, right?"

The duo instantly lost their smiles. Ah, yeah that was an expression he was used to. "Well, yeah," Kuroo snapped.

"Even if you were able to make it to nationals," Tsukishima continued, not even slightly fazed at the other boys tone. He was used to it. "actually winning there would be difficult, right?"

Kuroo scowled darkly as Bokuto's hand moved into a fist. "But not impossible!" he yelled loudly, causing Tsukishima to wince. He really was loud.

"Now, now, let's hear him out," Akaashi said lightly, glancing at his captain. "This is just a what if."

Seriously, how can the second year deal with these two? Tsukishima was fighting the urge to turn on his heel and walk away. "I seriously can't figure out how everyone can be so determined. Volleyball is just a club and maybe you'll get to write I worked really hard in high school on your resume, right?"

Bokuto glared, "Just a club?" he snarled. Tsukishima almost took a step back at the glare being directed at him. He had no idea the loud captain could look like that. He suddenly thought of the bitten down nails. He could suddenly understand how this person could be 'fated' to be with him. "It almost sounds like someone's name."

…what?

Well, there goes that thought.

Kuroo blinked, "Oh, like Mary Club?"

"What?" Tsukishima asked out loud this time, puzzled as the two began to argue. "Are they asking me to retort?"

"Nah, there'll be no end to it," Akaashi answered back as the two continued to stare at the arguing idiots. Tsukishima took the moment to look at the setter. He really was attractive. If he _was_ the person in his Moment, he could understand why the girl had been staring at him.

"Say, four-eyes!" And there was the end of that argument.

"It's Tsukishima."

"Say, Tsukishima-kun," Bokuto restarted, though he blinked as soon as the words left his lips. He stared at Tsukishima for a moment. He then seemed to shake out of whatever thought he had drifted into and continued with whatever it was he had been saying. "Is volleyball fun?"

Is volleyball fun? What type of question is that? For the first time, Tsukishima actually thought about his answer to that question. Did he really get joy out of playing, like so many others seemed to? No. Did he look forward to going to the club room every day? No.

"No, not really."

"Maybe that's because you suck," Tsukishima scowled at the words. He did not suck. At anything. Ever. "I'm a third year and I've been to nationals," Bokuto continued, "and I'm better than you. Like, way better."

"You don't have to tell me that," he muttered.

"But I only recently started thinking volleyball was fun," Bokuto said, surprising Tsukishima slightly. He had figured the older boy had been another Hinata. "Ever since my straight became usable in matches. Because my cross hits that I was really good at kept getting blocked. I got frustrated and practiced the hell out of straights. And, at the next tournament, the same blockers couldn't touch it. I got right past them. Just that one shot made me feel like my time had finally come." He laughed loudly, a grin breaking out across his face before he turned his gold eyes onto Tsukishima. The boy in question couldn't take his eyes away from the third year. Maybe he wasn't as much of an idiot as he thought. "It all depends on if you have the moment or not. It doesn't really matter what happens in the future, or if you can win your next match, the joy you feel beating the guy in front of you and when you're able to pull out 120% of your potential, is everything."

Seriously, how had this guy given him a speech like that? A speech that actually made him think and maybe understand exactly what his brother had been trying to tell him for so many years? He tore his eyes away from Bokuto and looked first at Kuroo, who was giving his friend an amused smile. He then looked over at Akaashi. His face, for once, actually showed something. Affection.

"Well, at least that's how it is for me," Bokuto continued and Tsukishima turned his focus back to the third year. "It doesn't mean it applies to everyone. I don't really understand why you say it's just a club but I don't think you're wrong. But once that moment arrives for you, that's the moment you'll be hooked on volleyball."

Tsukishima didn't know how to reply. That was the moment he'd be hooked on volleyball? This mystical moment he hadn't had yet? The moment that he might never have? Great.

"All right," Bokuto said loudly, clapping his hands and making Tsukishima jump. When exactly had the two thirds years moved on either side of him? "I answered your question, now help with blocking."

He placed his hand on Tsukishima's back and Kuroo slipped his arm down around his waist and pulled him onto the court, "come on, come on."

Tsukishima tried to protest but even as he did so, he knew it wouldn't do him any good. If these two had decided he was going to play, well, he was going to play. He was surprised at the fact that he didn't really want to leave. He enjoyed spending time with these three.

Yeah, he wasn't going to think about that too deeply.

They spent the next two hours in that gym with Kuroo giving Tsukishima pointers. Tsukishima was good at analyzing things around him but Kuroo pointed out differences in timing and other details that Tsukishima had never paid much attention to.

No wonder Nekoma had such a good defense.

Bokuto was beginning to get more and more annoyed as the night wore on and Tsukishima and Kuroo were able to block his attacks. At one point, Akaashi actually stopped tossing and walked to his captain, saying something in a low voice that perked the other boy up instantly. He once again wondered if it was a possibility.

Akaashi turned toward him suddenly and Tsukishima met the setters eyes. The second year seemed to be studying him closely and Tsukishima wondered what exactly it was he was looking for. But then Akaashi looked away, this time his eyes focusing on Kuroo and the third year captain quirked up his lips and nodded his head.

Okay, so he was missing something.

They practiced for at least another hour before Akaashi called it a night. Tsukishima was thankful. There was no way Bokuto would ever stop willingly and Kuroo seemed to indulge the other captain. The only way they were going to stop is when Akaashi stopped and refused to set the ball. Tsukishima saw the older boy send him a small smile when Tsukishima sent him a thankful glance.

Tsukishima couldn't believe that he went back the next night. He hadn't even attempted not to. While he still didn't think volleyball was particularly fun, he liked knowing that he was getting better at it. He didn't want to be the only person on his team that didn't improve. He had never been the dead weight and he wasn't going to start now. Plus, he really did somewhat enjoy the company of the other three boys. Not that he would ever admit to it.

They had all just finished stretching when Bokuto perked up. "Oh? Tsukki, did you bring a friend today?"

Tsukishima followed the third years gaze and scowled when he saw bright orange hair poking around the doorframe. A face appeared a moment later and Tsukishima rolled his eyes when that face morphed into shock when he saw that they had noticed him.

"What happened to your partner?" Tsukishima questioned the other middle blocker, a feeling of resignation over taking him. He knew the other boy wasn't going to leave. And he knew that once the three realized just how much talent Hinata had, Tsukishima would become irrelevant.

"Kageyama's practicing on his own again," Hinata explained and he shuffled into the room. "I was trying to get Kenma to throw me tosses but he ran away after the fifth one." Of course he did. Even Tsukishima knew the Nekoma setter wouldn't put in the time of extra practice without his best friend being involved. And usually not even then.

"It's amazing that you got Kenma to even give you five during practice," Kuroo chimed in with amusement. Tsukishima felt envious that everyone just accepted the fact that Kenma wasn't going to do anything extra. Obviously, Tsukishima hadn't been successful as of yet.

"So," Hinata continued brightly, completely oblivious to the internal battle Tsukishima was fighting. "Please let me practice with you!"

Those words weren't only shouted out by Hinata. They were echoed by a familiar half-Russian as well, both of them standing in the doorway and staring imploringly into the gym. Tsukishima fought back a groan. One exuberant personality put him at his limit. He was fine with Bokuto and Kuroo for some reason, maybe because Akaashi was there to even everything out, but adding in these two…

"Lev, I thought you were practicing receives with Yaku," Kuroo cut in as the two idiots began to argue with one another.

"He said I was doing well today, so he let me go."

Lie.

"Really? You sure you didn't run away?" Kuroo questioned, his eyes narrowing. Tsukishima sighed once more and turned his back on the conversation. He knew where this was going. He didn't know why Kuroo was dragging it out.

"No, of course not!"

"Well, whatever," Kuroo gave in. "Then we have the right number of people so let's play some three on three."

"Yay!" Shoyo and Lev shouted.

Akaashi had made his way over to Tsukishima and was frowning at the scene in front of him. "Is this alright?"

Tsukishima turned to him with a frown. "What?"

But Akaashi's eyes were focused on Hinata, "Is it fine with you if Hinata joins us for the night?"

…

"It would be impossible to stop him at this point."

It wasn't an affirmative. And Akaashi knew it. His lips pinched momentarily and he bowed his head slightly. "Well then, I suppose we should see what Kuroo has planned."

A few moments later, Akaashi was standing with an annoyed glare on his face. Tsukishima felt his lips twitch at the expression on the normally stoic boy. Apparently he was no longer the only person annoyed. "Ah, isn't this just a bit unbalanced?"

He was, of course, correct. Bokuto, Akaashi, and Hinata, the three shortest players, had somehow ended up against the three tallest, Tsukishima, Kuroo, and Lev. Of course, they had an actual setter and Tsukishima had gotten stuck with Lev, so Tsukishima would be glad to trade places with Hinata.

"It's fine!" Kuroo soothed, "Let's do things we can't do during the day!"

Akaashi visibly wilted at the words. Hinata and Bokuto started yelling loudly, obviously loving the idea. Lev began to do the same on their side of the net, but one glare from Tsukishima had the other first-year whimpering instead.

Maybe he was fine where he was. He really didn't envy Akaashi at this moment.

The game started and Tsukishima felt himself bite back a smile when he saw the stoic setter getting more annoyed as time went on. The more annoyed he became, the more sarcastic he became. Apparently, the boy wasn't so stoic after all. He was just as sarcastic and 'salty' as Tsukishima. Even Hinata seemed to notice the resemblance as he kept shoot glances between Tsukishima and Akaashi.

Tsukishima could honestly say he hadn't been aware of how much time had passed until two managers stopped by the gym to warn them that they were going to miss dinner. Bokuto cried out in alarm and ran out of the doors with Lev right behind him. Tsukishima and Akaashi moved after them at a slower pace while Tsukishima heard Kuroo assure Hinata that they would continue tomorrow.

Well, apparently it wasn't going to be a onetime thing.

"I would apologize but I think I have the worst end of this situation," Akaashi muttered as the boys began to follow after Bokuto.

Tsukishima felt his lips twitch. "Did you not enjoy the game, Akaashi-san?"

Akaashi sent him a glare that had Tsukishima bringing a hand up to hide his smile. "Maybe we should switch positions tomorrow, Tsukishima-san."

"Don't count on it, Akaashi-san."


End file.
